1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vehicle navigation in general, and more particularly to a method and an arrangement for guiding the driver of the vehicle in traveling along a calculated route from a starting point to a destination.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are already known various constructions of navigation arrangement, and associated navigation methods, for use in guiding a driver of a motor vehicle in negotiating a route from a starting to a finishing point, among them such that are capable of selecting the very route to be traveled in dependence on various given or chosen parameters, by means of travel advice or instructions of optical and/or acoustic nature that informs the vehicle driver about the action to be taken by him or her if the desire is to follow the pre-selected route. Nowadays, many a navigation device of this type is even capable of being updated by information received from a remote location, even while the vehicle is already en route to the originally selected destination, and of changing the route, if need be, on the basis of such an updated information.
A conventional navigation device of this kind could be used to guide a vehicle driver from a starting point to a transfer location at which the driver of (or a passenger in) the vehicle would transfer from the vehicle originally usedxe2x80x94hereafter referred to as a primary transportation meansxe2x80x94to another (secondary) transportation means that would then take him or her to the desired ultimate destination. However, for the conventional navigation device to be usable in this manner, the coordinates of the transfer location, rather than those of the ultimate destination, would have to be entered, and provisions would have to be made separately prior to the departure from the starting point to assure timely arrival of the primary transportation means at the transfer location.
Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to avoid the disadvantages of the prior art.
More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle navigation method that does not possess the drawbacks of the known methods of this type.
Still another object of the present invention is to devise a method of the type here under consideration that would make it possible to select the route to be traveled on the basis of the ultimate destination rather than on local considerations.
It is yet another object of the present invention to design a navigation device for performing the above method in such a manner as to automatically guide the vehicle driver for travel along a route that would result in the most advantageous trip at that time to the ultimate destination to be reached by a secondary transportation means.
A concomitant object of the present invention is so to construct the navigation arrangement of the above type as to be relatively simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to use, and yet reliable in operation.
In keeping with the above objects and others which will become apparent hereafter, one feature of the present invention resides in a method of navigating a driver of a primary transportation means along a calculated route from a starting point to a destination by issuing appropriate travel advice. This method includes the steps selecting for the aforementioned destination a transfer location from the primary transportation means to a secondary transportation means traveling to an ultimate destination; and producing additional information, in addition to the travel advice, in dependence on known departure times and destinations of various ones of the secondary transportation means for use in at least one of bringing such additional information to the driver""s attention and calculating the route.
A particular advantage of this inventive approach is that the primary transportation means driver is made aware in a timely fashion, that is already during the travel of the primary transportation means from the original or subsequent point of departure of the latter to the transfer location at which a transfer is to take place from the primary transportation means (e.g. a personal passenger car) to a secondary transportation means (e.g. an express train) of information or advice concerning the next reachable or the quickest secondary transportation means going from a particular transfer location to the ultimate destination. In the alternative or in addition, the produced information can be automatically taken into account, in the sense of optimization of the overall travel from the staring point to the ultimate destination, for instance with respect to the travel time, already during the route determination or calculation, that is for instance in the selection of the transfer location for the secondary transportation means. Finally, it is of advantage that the entire trip including the utilization of the secondary transportation means can be optimized as a whole, for instance with respect to the minimization of the travel time. In this respect, it is particularly advantageous when, in accordance with the present invention, the producing step includes determining the information in dependence on the ultimate destination entered by the driver. This means that it is the ultimate destination and the convenience of reaching it that is determinative of the secondary transportation means and hence, in the final analysis, the transfer location, rather than the other way around, which accrues to the benefit of the traveler.
According to a particularly advantageous feature of the present invention, the producing step includes generating an indication of the time available before the departure of the particular secondary transportation means from at least one of the present location of the primary transportation means and the prospective time or arrival of the primary transportation means at the transfer location. An advantage of this feature is that the traveler is apprised in a timely fashion of the prospective arrival time at the transfer location and/or the time reserve available at that point between the prospective time of arrival of the primary transportation means at, and the departure of the secondary transportation means from, the transfer point. This makes it possible for the traveler to arrange, in the event that the available time reserve is large enough to permit it, for incorporation of intermediate stops on the way of the primary transportation means to the transfer location, for instance to take care of official business, attend to some shopping, or the like. In this context, it is particularly advantageous when the time reserve is given as a difference between the prospective time of arrival of the primary transportation means at the transfer location as calculated at that time, and the departure of the secondary transportation means from the transfer location. This facilitates the estimation of that part of the time reserve that is available for spending on unpredictable hindrances, such as detours, traffic jams or stoppages on the way to the transfer point.
In conjunction with this, it is particularly advantageous when the time reserve between the prospective arrival of the primary transportation means at the transfer point and the departure of the secondary transportation means therefrom, as it is calculated and presented to the primary transportation means driver, takes into account the traffic conditions the encountering of which is actually to be expected, such as the then know traffic jams or slowdowns or the like. The information concerning such actual traffic conditions can be delivered to the navigation device with which the primary transportation means is equipped, for instance, via a radio transmission.
A further advantageous aspect of the present invention is to be seen in the fact that the generating step includes issuing, in the event that said available time indication drops below a predetermined threshold such as, say, 10 minutes, another indication of the time available before the departure of the next following secondary transportation means instead of the originally calculated time reserve. In this manner, it is avoided that the driver, considering the low level of the available time reserve, would switch over to an aggressive driving behavior in order to reach the secondary transportation means notwithstanding. Therefore, this aspect of the present invention contributes to overall traffic safety.
According to another particularly advantageous facet of the invention, the selecting step includes using the additional information obtained in the producing step as to the departure times of the various kinds of secondary transportation means and their destinations for determining the travel route to that of all possible transfer locations from which the secondary transportation means that arrives at the ultimate destination the soonest departs. This renders possible an optimization of the trip in terms of minimization of the overall travel time from the starting point to the ultimate destination. In particular, it is possible under certain circumstances, when pursuing this facet of the invention, to reroute the primary transportation means in the event that it is determined that it would not arrive at a certain transfer point to a chosen secondary transportation means timely or with a sufficient time reserve for an orderly transfer, so that it would reach another transfer point to that very same secondary transportation means in time and with a sufficient time reserve to accomplish such a transfer.
It is advantageous when the producing step includes retrieving departure times and ultimate destinations of the secondary transportation means from a storage. However, it is even more advantageous for the producing step to include, in accordance with the present invention, obtaining departure times and ultimate destinations of the secondary transportation means in an updated form from a data base over a wireless connection. This renders it possible, for instance, to react in the determination of the route to be taken to delays or cancellations of the secondary transportation means. In this way, the navigation device may be able to inform the driver of the primary transportation means that he or she would still be able to arrive at the transfer point with a sufficient time reserve to catch a delayed secondary transportation means where the time reserve would be insufficient were the secondary transportation means to arrive and depart as scheduled.
The present invention is also directed to an arrangement for navigating a driver of a primary transportation means along a calculated route from a starting point to a destination by issuing appropriate travel advice. This arrangement, which possess the advantages enumerated above, includes means for storing departure times from transfer locations from the primary transportation means to a secondary transportation means, and ultimate destinations to which such secondary transportation means travel; navigation computing means for producing additional information, in addition to said travel advice, in dependence on such stored departure times and ultimate destinations of various ones of the secondary transportation means for use in at least one of bringing such additional information to the driver""s attention and calculating the route. For the reasons listed above, it is advantageous when the arrangement is further equipped with means for receiving updated information from a remote location about the currently applicable ones of said departure times and ultimate destinations; and means for storing such updated information for use by said navigation computing means.
The novel features which are considered as characteristic of the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawing.